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Article: Board Game Auctions - A Primer
By Chris Kovac
January 8, 2006
This article is about how to organize and run a boardgame auction at a game convention/event. I have broken the subject up into the following sections:
Introduction
Space, People, Time and Equipment Considerations
Auction Procedure - How an Auction Works
Fees and Money Matters
Conclusion
Introduction
Boardgame auctions were one of the main ways of gamers disposing of boardgames back before eBay and other internet related auction sites. Some Conventions like Gencon or Origins have a very long history of running boardgame auctions. Though not as popular as they once were they can still help draw people to a convention and allow gamers to sell large numbers of games quickly without all the messy shipping and waiting for payment involved with EBay sales. Also they can be very entertaining as anyone who has been to a good auction can tell you. My local gaming club called the General Staff has been running a Game Auction at our annual Gaming Convention in Toronto, Canada called Pandemonium for over 15 years. I have participated in and helped for at least the last ten years as well as managing the auction for the last three years. If you wish to run a boardgame auction remember it does take good organization, a strong commitment by the auction staff and the need for adequate time and space to run the auction.
Space, People, Time and Equipment Considerations
In terms of space, the area for the auction should be if possible a separate room to keep the noise down from the rest of the convention. At the very least it should be away from other events in order to cut down on distractions and disruptions. The auction area should also be well lit so people can see the games the auctioneers are holding. The area should be able to accommodate up fifty people though we have had as few as thirty or almost sixty at some auctions. See Figure 1 for a typical auction layout and personnel listing. The actual auction area where the games and auction personnel are should be large enough to hold at least three to four people with chairs. The main corridor should meet both local fire codes and be large enough to accommodate both the runners and foot traffic.
I suggest that you will need the following people (See Figure 1) in order to make an auction run:
Auctioneers
A good auctioneer should be familiar with the value and types of a wide variety of games. A good relaxed manner, strong clear voice and good sense of humor also help. We usually have two auctioneers, sometimes three so one can rest occasionally while the other continues the sales. The Auctioneers job is during the auction to take unsold games passed to them, sell them for the best price possible (See Auction Procedure) then hand off the sold items to the runners to collect the money from the buyer. Depending on the variety of items being sold you can have some specialization. For example one auctioneer can specialize in wargames while the other in Euros.
Cashier
A trusted member of the team (often the Auction organizer) who handles the cash and is responsible for the Cash at all times before, during and after the auction. The cashier sells all Game Paddles, Makes change/collects cash from the Runners passes auction tags to the Auction Tag sorter, pays auction related expenses such as photocopy, organizes the final payout to the sellers and collects/returns the cash float as well as any profits to the appropriate person/group.
Game Passer
The Games passer organizes the games during registration in the storage area. Organizing by item type (Boardgame, Wargame, Game Magazine, etc.) is recommended because it is easier to control the flow of games during the auction. During the registration he also makes sure the auction area is secure and unauthorized people do not wander in since theft is always a possibility. The Game Passer during the auction keeps the auctioneers supplied with items. A good balance (even mix of rare and common items, Euros and Wargames, etc. )of items is needed through the auctions keep the buyers in their seats. Any unsold items are put aside by the Game Passer to be resold a second time (“BoBo Table�) or returned at the end of the auction. A Game Passer needs to be a good judge of what games are selling, how fast the auctioneers are selling (to speed up or slow down accordingly) and audience demand. He also needs to be able to stay on his feet for most of the auction.
Game Tag Organizer
This position while not essential can speed up the processing of the game tags at the end of the auction and reduce possible payout errors. In the registration phase of an auction he assists in the registration and helps out the game passer if necessary. During the auction he takes the game item tags from the cashier and/or runners then organizes them by person. When the auction is over he, along with the cashier and one or two others takes a persons tags, adds up the total, deducts the “item� fee and writes the amount on the envelope (See Auction Procedure). The game tag organizer is responsible for double checking these amounts and resolving any payout problems.
Game Runner
A physically demanding job which requires a person to be on his feet for the entire auction. This person passes sold games from the auctioneers to the buyers, collecting money for the items (making change if necessary) and returning both the money and the filled out tag to the cashier. It is important that the runner makes sure the auction tag form is filled out with the correct price and that he removes the tag from game before he hands the item to buyer. I would suggest at least three runners in order to allow breaks for runners.
Time Considerations
In terms of time you need about two to four hours for registration and an hour per 100 items sold (an hour and a half if you have never done this before). This is followed by about an hour to two hours to process the auction sales and count out the cash for each seller followed by 30/45 minutes to distribute the cash and 30 minutes to clean up the auction area. See the auction procedure for more detail.
Suggested Auction Equipment
Here is a list of equipment you might need for an auction:
Tape - Removable and transparent to attach item forms to games. Three or four rolls at least with dispensers.
Scissors - two or three pair
An ink stamp which stamps sequential numbers for auction forms
Colored Paper for Auction Paddles
Pads of Lined Paper
Solar Powered calculators
Lots of Pens
Power extension cords if you are using Sound systems or Computers
Envelopes
Rubber Bands and a Stapler
Cash Box (Portable and Secure)
Pages of Uncut Game Tags with tags equal to the maximum number of items in the auction
Auction Seller registration forms
A Plastic Storage Bin for storing Equipment
A Collapsible dolly for moving heavy boxes and equipment (saves back pain and strain)
Auction Procedure - How an Auction Works
An auction has the following phases:
1. Pre Auction Preparation
Prior to actually coming to an auction you need to due some pre preparation work. First of all you need to get sufficient people to fill the roles already stated. They need to be committed to the auction. We usually managed to obtain free entry to the event if people helped at the auction but we have had some problems with people not showing up. Make sure at least a week ahead that these people are definitely going to be there. Once you have the personnel you need to photocopy enough item label sheets (See Figure 3 and Figure 4 for examples) for the number of items you think you might sell (we usually had 300-400 items). These label sheets need to be stamped each twice with the same number. Once on the main part that you keep and once on the detachable part kept by the buyer for his records. Also make sure you have enough pens, tape, paper, etc. Some bottled water is also recommended since it can get hot with large numbers of people in an enclosed area.
2. Setup - About 30-45 Minutes
The auction organizer and at least one or two helpers should arrive at least one hour ahead of game registration start with auction material including Auction forms (stamped ahead of time), Auction Paddles (numbered) and a cash float. I suggest for the cash float to be roughly equal to the number of items being sold and consist of about 60% small denominations ($1.00 - $5.00) and 40% larger denominations ($10.00-$50.00). This float should be the responsibility of the cashier, organizer or other trusted person. In this setup phase one should construct the auction area (See Figure 1), make sure the chairs are organized, and post any signs. The sign(s) should give the conditions of sale (See Appendix 1 (in DOC format) for an example), TimeTable, Directions, etc. Also get out the registration forms and auction items and set aside some seats near the auction area for game registration. Make sure plenty of tape, scissors and pens are available (make sure you get them back as well - no freebies).
3. Game registration - 2 to 4 hours
Start game registration at least two to three hours ahead of the auction to make sure all items are processed. You need at least three people to manage and check games as well as the game handler to organize games by type in the auction area as they are registered. You can get away with maybe two if you have less than 200 items in an auction. Game registration usually follows the following procedure:
First hand him an auction registration form (See Figure 2 for an example) and an envelope which he writes his name, address, badge number and phone number. Make sure the auction registration form is completed and returned before giving out auction item sheets. I cannot stress this enough to make sure all the information on the form is filled out especially name, address, phone and badge number (saves a lot of grief)!
Secondly ask the seller how many games he is selling and give him the nearest number of auction item tags to this number (See Figure 3 and Figure 4 for examples of auction tags). Make sure you get any used tags back from the seller. For each item make sure that an auction label (See Figure 2) is filled out and attached to the game item with removable tape. The label has to be visible on top of the game item so the auctioneer can see it. Each item in the auction has to have tag that is properly filled out and check the condition of the game (open it and due a quick scan for the rules, if the game is punched, etc.) before accepting it. We normally would not accept any boardgame with photocopied rules. Also any electronic items and computer games are marked as is and sold that way since you cannot check on these items. As each item has been checked by auction staff the Game Handler organizes the games into types in the storage area of the Auction Area. The Game Handler should also makes sure no unauthorized personnel wanders around this area (theft is always a possibility) as games are registered. The detachable portion of each tag is given to the seller for his records and so that he can claim his payout at the end of the auction. You should close registration when either it gets to be about an hour to an hour and a half before auction or when you run out of auction tags.
4. Food Break/Auction Setup/Game Paddle Sales - 1 Hour to 1.5 Hours
About an hour and a half before the auction starts close off registration. This allows for the game processing to be completed, auction staff to get food and drink (always have plenty of water) and organize the auction area including cleaning up the registration area and organizing the float. You begin selling auction paddles about 15-30 minutes before the auction starts. We charged $2.00 per paddle and sold items only to people with paddles. The paddles are numbered sequentially so they can be used to identify a buyer and keep track of how many buyers there were. Furthermore we reserved seats for buyers only until 30 minutes after the auction starts as an incentive for people to participate rather than just watch the auction.
5. The Game Auction (2 to 4 Hours)
Before you start the auction outline the conditions of sale (See Appendix 1 (in DOC format)) and how the auction function. I would suggest a silent auction to keep down on the noise. In this type of auction a buyers hold up his auction paddles when the auctioneer sells an item he likes. When the auctioneer reaches a price the buyer no longer wishes to pay the buyer lowers it. The last person up with a paddle pays the price at that moment. If the buyers put down there paddles simultaneously then the auctioneer goes backwards by one dollar amounts and the first person up with his paddle gets the item. We usually bid up items in dollar amounts (larger jumps for popular items). When the item is sold the auctioneer tells the runner the sale price and the persons paddle number then hands the item off to the runner before picking up the next item. While this exchange is taking place the other auctioneer is selling an item. A good auction team as mentioned before should be able to handle at least 100 items/hour. Any item that receives no bids is what we called “Bo-Bo’d� and passed back to the game handler to put aside until the end of the auction. At the end of the auction allow sellers to come up and put a new price (too high a starting price is a common problem) or condition on “Bo-Bo’d� items. After allowing fifteen minutes for sellers to change prices/condition we auctions these items again. If the item is again not sold it is returned to the seller during the payout phase but he is still charged the auction fee for the item.
6. Item Tallying and Payout - 1 - 1.5 hours
After the auction is complete tell sellers to come back after at least an hour before payout can begin. At this time the Item Checker along with two or three other people check each sellers tags adding up the total payout minus the auctioneers fee(s). This total should be double checked by a second person. Then the tags are placed in the appropriate person envelope and the payout written on the outside along with the number of items. The cashier then puts this amount in the envelope (again double check the amount). Once all sellers have been processed send someone out to the convention areas or other places sellers might be to announce that payouts will commence. Each seller as the Cashier/Game Item organizer calls out his name should produce the game tags and if necessary identification before giving his payout. The seller is also given any unsold items back at this time. The seller then sings a payout sheet to confirm he has received his payout. The event organizer and item checker should resolve any problems with totals or items. Anyone who does not claim his payout should be contacted by the event organizer/item checker/cashier to arrange another time for the payout. Unclaimed items should be kept separately from the float so you do not mix them up.
7. Clean and Packup - 30 Minutes
The final phase of the auction is the cleanup and packup of the auction materials. The equipment should be packed up, garbage cleaned up and the cash given to the cashier to disperse to the appropriate people including returning the float to wherever you got it from (person, group, club, etc.). Make sure you have all the equipment and it is suggested to store it in an auction box that can be easily stored for next year by the event organizer or other reliable person.
Fees and Money Matters
Ah the important stuff. There are different ways to auction fees during an auction. Many auction houses calculate a percentage of the final selling prices (5-20% in some cases or higher) but we have found the $1.00 per item is the easiest and it involves a minimum amount of calculation. You therefore make the money based on volume (more items=more cash). We also charge $2.00 for a game paddle in order to discourage people who are not serious bidders. If the auction is part of a game convention or other event we usually charged a somewhat reduced fee from the convention ($15.00 for the auction Vs $20.00 for the convention) if the person was coming exclusively for the auction. Regular convention attendees only pay for an auction paddle. Remember room costs especially at hotels can be very expensive so if you can cut a deal or operate as part of an event it can increase your profits. Running an auction by itself can be a money losing proposition if you do not sell enough items to make up your room cost. Finally check to make sure the auction itself does not violate any local or state laws. In most cases it will not but in some states or provinces licenses or professional auctioneers might be needed in order to hold an auction.
Conclusion
Hopefully my comments will be of some help to those interested in planning a game auction. Remember this is but one way to run an auction and feel free to adapt these guidelines to meet your local gaming needs. Remember a good game auction needs Dedicated People, with Good Planning and both the space and time to run an auction. If you have these you should be able to create a memorable and attractive event for a convention or games event.
| Figures and Appendices - Click on the picture for a larger version or to download the document | |
 | Figure 1 - Auction Room Layout |
 | Figure 2 - Game Registration Form |
 | Figure 3 - Game Item Tag Sheet Example |
 | Figure 4 - Game Item Tag Sheet Example |
 | Appendix 1 - Conditions of Sale (in DOC format) |
© 2006 Rick Thornquist
Posted by Rick Thornquist on Jan 8, 2006 at 10:30 PM in Special Features, Articles / 1832
Comments:
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Nice summary of an auction. I have worked many years for the Origins/GenCon auction. You summarized an auction event very well. It is a very rewarding experience for me personally. I have seen games that I thought were only “legend”. I have met some of the legends of the game industry as well. We move many thousands of items over a 3.5 to 4 day auction. It is very phsyical event for the workers (ie. think marathon). I have gone to some cons specifically for the auction. Nicely done—keep up the informative articles! Posted by Scott Fisher on Jan 9, 2006 at 10:52 AM | #
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